THE CULTIVATOR. 
12S 
of tile primitive region of this county, where wheat is considered a very 
precarious crop, lime is hardly discernable among its component parts. 
E.xpeiirnents made with lime in Galway, ami along ihe secondary le¬ 
gion, have added hut little to its ciedit as a manure. This result, is ow¬ 
ing to the soil already containing a sufficient quantity for all the purposes 
ot vegetation. It is in the primitive rtgion w here this article is deficient, 
and where its application can be expected to have a good effect. 
FREQUENT ploughing. 
That frequent ploughing is useless, and frequently injurious, may he 
inferred tiom the experience of many of the most observing farmers. 
The practice of merely turning over the sod and sow ing on the furrows, 
(see page 64,) is becoming every year more popular, and an intelligent 
farmer has just given me the following account of a process, which he 
tried the season past. 
Having a clean clover field, which he intended to plant with Indian 
corn, a pait of it was ploughed ar.d planted in the usual way 
other part was merely iidg. il or 
for the row- 
plants. This is an experiment ot much interest, and the result will be 
looked for with anxiety. 
ON STEAMING FOOD KOI! HORSES. 
It has been ascertained, though perhaps not generally known, that grain 
of any kind cannot be dressed or cooked by dry steam applied to the dry 
grain. If the steam is at a low pressure, or a little above atmospheric, 
;a species of parching is produced on the grain so treated; and if steam of 
j very light pressure is applied, the grain may be entirely carbonized. An 
intermediate and very simple process has however been found, whereby 
grain of any sort can be completely boiled, which is done by soaking the 
grain in water for a period of from six to twelve hours, according to its 
state of dryness; and then placing it in the receiver described for steam¬ 
ing roots, and applying them for an hour, the grain will come out cmn- 
tely boiled. “ 
pletely boiled. From this it may be inferred, that each grain becomes a 
while the j little cauldron, containing as much absorbed water as serves to boil it by 
back furrowed,” at sufficient distances tlit: application of steam; but w hatever he the rationale of it, we are thus 
while the space between w-as left unmoved and green with provided with a simple and efficient steaming and boiling apparatus appli- 
clover, lobe turned over lo the lulls during (lie process of hoeing; Ihe Ji cable alike to the cooking of juicy roots or tubers, and dry grains, 
coin was planted on Ihe centre of the ridge. The success of this process j That horses on alarm may be kept more economically on prepared food 
was very observa'de through Ihe season; Ihe corn had a much more rapid than in the state ami manner in which food is usually administered to them, 
and luxuriant growth, and at harvest yielded a considerable mole abundant I have no doubt. The fact, however, will soon be ascertained, in conse- 
crop than the oilier parts of Ihe field 
The result is imputed, by mv informant, to the following causes: 1st. 
“ the ground beneath the lulls of corn remaining unmoved and covered 
quence of Ihe premium which the Highland Society has just no.v an¬ 
nounced on the subject. The results of the experiments which some 
fanners will make, will, we fondly anticipate, piove the facility of pre- 
by the furrows, retained the moisture longer than that which had been paring food, and economy in tile use of if. We have the authority of the 
turned over and exposed lo ihe air and sun; hence tile plants did not suf-1 owners of some of the coaching and posting cslablishments in Edinburgh, 
fer by ihe drought, as did those on the other par. of the field.” And 2Jly, ! for stating, that the saving w-hich will arise from the use of prepared loo 1, 
“ the turning of the sod, which was permitted to .grow between the low s, I in the keep of forty horses, will amount to 140/. a year. We have also 
up to the hills at hoeing time, furnished Ihe roots, as they extended from Ihe high authority of Mr. Dick, the Piofessor of Veterinary Surgery in 
the lidge, with a new supply of vegetable matter and moisture. 
M.1TURAL MEADOW. 
Perhaps no kind of land has been more eagerly sought for, or more 
highly prized as an appendage to the farm, by the most of our farmers, j 
than what is usually termed '■•natural meadow;"’ and yet probably no parti 
of the farm is so unprofitable. The object Is to secure a crop of hay, 
which it seldom fails to produce; hut, it should be remembered, that thei 
quantity is always much less than what might be produced from tile same! 
quantify of land by cultivation; its quality is vastly inferior, and the land! 
is totally lost to the production of any other crop. 1 have frequently 
counted ten and twelve ditl'.-rent species of grass within the compass of a 
few lods square, and not more than one or tw-o of them that has ever been 
noticed as furnishing (bod suitable for the sustenance of stock, to say no¬ 
thing of the great variety of ferns, rushes and mosses growing upon the 
same spot, which every farmer would be pleased to have annilnl ited. 
Every farmer should calculate upon the cultivation of his grass, as he 
does upon that of his grain ; he will then be sure always to have a sup- 
Edinburgh, for saying, that the generul health of horses under work, is 
much better on prepared than unprepared food. 
It is obvious, says Mr. Dick, the grand desideratum is to give food con¬ 
taining as much nutriment, and in as small bulk, as is consistent with the 
economy of the animal. If this problem is solved, it will follow, as a 
corollary, that it will lie important to give that food which has been found 
best suited to its proportions, in such a state as is be-t suited for diges¬ 
tion. This is a point, however, worthy of consideration; and natura'ly 
suggests the question, How is tile body supplied with nourishment in 
taking food into the stomach? The common notion is, that much depends, 
as I have indeed before mentioned, on the hardness of the food; ami it, is 
a common saying, in order to show off a horse which is in condition, “that 
he has plenty of hard meat in him.” Now this is a very silly and erroneous 
idea, if we inquire into it; for, whatever may be the consistency of the 
food which is taken into the stomach, it mist, before the body can pos¬ 
sibly derive any substantial support or benefit from it, be converted into 
chyme—a pultac -oils mass, and this, as it passes onwards from tile stomach 
ply, and that too of a qualify agreeable to his choice, while the system, if, into the intestinal canal, is rendered still more fluid, by the admixture of 
properly pursued, will have the effect to increase the quantity and quality 
of all his other crops to a degree, that those who are not acquainted with 
the tacts, can hardly believe. 
The question has often been asked. What shall we do with the field? 
it is too wet to plough. The answer is, drain it. I have seldom seen a 
field of this desciiption but what might be drained for a sum considerably 
less than what the first crop would amount to, and the effects of draining, 
if properly executed, is permanent. 
Since the introduction of gypsum as a manure, flie plain lands havej 
greatiy increased in value and importance in the estimation of fanners ge¬ 
nerally; indeed these lands have been commanding a higher price, in this 
co. than those of any other description, under the same state of cultivation, I 
and it is now believed, by those who have the best opportunity to judge, 
that no soil can be brought so easily and cheaply into a slate of profitable 
cultivation as that of the plains. This opinion has caused them to be j 
sought after more, and, of course, has raised their value. The soil of I 
these plains being naturally light, is soon exhausted by improper tillage;] 
but where the plan laid down in pages 63 and 65 has been adopted and! 
pursued, there has been no depreciation in its productions, but, on the] 
contrary, they have been almost incredibly augmented. 
The subject which excites the most serious apprehensions with regard I 
to tlie profitable tenure of this class of soil, is the deficiency of fencing! 
timber; but this defect will probably be supplied by the intioduction of 
“hedges ,” and it is believed that our own forests contain the necessary 
materials for effecting this object, in the Crat.bgus Crus-Galli, or 
Coccinea, ( common thorn-bush ) There are several species of this 
shrnl), natives of the soil, some of which will unquestionably answer our 
purpose bettei than any that can lie introduced from abroad 
The fust and only attempt, which I know of in this county, to bring 
this system into operation, was undertaken liv Mr. Davis, on land be¬ 
longing to J. K. Beekman, Esq. During the fall past, 504 of the plants 
of this shrub have been placed by Mr. Davis in regular order to form a 
hedge; they are planted in two parallel lines, twelve inches apart, and at 
regular intervals of six inches. Mr. D. has likewise planted a quantity 
of the seed, with a view of ascertaining the best method of obtaining the 
tire secretions Irorn tlie stomach, the liver, and the pancreas, when it be¬ 
comes of a milky appearance, and is called chyle. It is then taken into 
the system by the lacteals; and in this lluid, this soft slate, and in this 
state only, mixes with the blood, and passes through the cnculating ves¬ 
sels for tlie nourishment of the system. 
Now if the hardest of tlie food must in this manner be broken down 
and dissolved before it can really enter into the system, it must appear 
evident that something approaching to this solution, if done artificially, 
would greatly aid the organs of digestion in this process, and that thereby 
much exertion might be saved to tlie system, and at the same time nou¬ 
rishment would he rapidly conveyed into it. It is with this view that I 
would recommend tlie general adoption of cooking food for horses.— Edin¬ 
burgh Quarterly Journal of Jig. 
HOVEN IN CATTLE. 
I beg leave to add here some observations to the paragraph in 3d num¬ 
ber of tlie Farmer and Gardener, headed, On the swelling of cattle. 
They also in Germany make use of the knife in this disease; hut in a 
less dangerous way, and with better success. It is done with an instru¬ 
ment, called the Troicar, a thin and sharp pointed iron in its scabbard, 
which is pushed into tlie noted place, then the iron is withdrawn, hut the 
scabbard remains in the wound, for the escape of the gas, it may even 
be kept there for some time to prevent the new formation of the gas, this 
is tlie great advantage of the iron over the knife, on account of the im¬ 
mediate contraction of the wound, following the use of the knife. 
Another well approved means, which is accompanied by no danger, 
and which every farmer may easily prepare and provide for use, is tlie 
following: Take a few crude lime stones and burn them, then pound 
them while they are glowing hot, and put the flour, before it can be im¬ 
pregnated with tile air gas, into a bottle, and cork it well to prevent the 
communication of tlie external air to the lime. In case of a swelling, put 
a teaspoonfnl of Ihe same into a Gotlle with a pint of warm water, shake 
it and give it to the sick animal, which immediately will be restored. 
This means is based upon chemical principles in absorbing the fixed air, 
(the gas) by the alkalies.— Farmer and Gardener. 
